This section provides background information related to the present disclosure and is not necessarily prior art.
In the drilling of wells, a drill bit is used to dig thousands of feet into the earth's crust. Fluid (e.g., “drilling mud,” “drilling fluid,” etc.) is pumped from a well drilling platform, through a drill string, to the drill bit at the lower or distal end of drill string. The drilling mud serves to lubricate the drill bit and carry away well cuttings generated by the drill bit as it engages rock and underground formations. The cuttings are carried in a return flow stream of drilling mud through an annulus of the well and back to the well drilling platform at the earth's surface. When the drilling mud reaches the platform, it is contaminated with debris, such as pieces of shale and rock, known in the industry as well cuttings or drill cuttings. Once the drill cuttings, drilling mud, and other waste reach the platform, various processing operations may be employed. The remaining drill cuttings, waste and residual drilling mud (e.g., drilling waste,” “waste”, etc.) may be transported via a transporting vessel to a disposal site.
Alternatively, waste produced by the drilling operations may be processed and re-injected back into the formation from which the material came. Prior to re-injection, waste is processed through a waste processing system that turns the materials into a slurry that can be pumped deep underground and injected into a processing site.
Many drilling sites are located in remote locations and relatively inaccessible locations where transportation infrastructure is limited or nonexistent. Therefore, in some instances, the waste is transported to an offsite waste processing facility. However, transporting the waste products offsite can be expensive and/or hazardous.
Alternatively, waste processing systems may be transported via various means, such as by helicopter, to drilling sites. However, typical waste processing systems, having multiple tanks, pump, or other components, may be excessive in weight, thus presenting challenges in the transportation of such processing systems. Accordingly, it is desirable to efficiently transport and assemble waste processing systems at drilling sites.